Two More Call of Duty Players Charged in Deadly Kansas Swatting Following Online Dispute, Federal Court Dates Set
The two Call of Duty players that engaged in an online argument which lead to the Swatting death of Andrew Finch in Wichita, Kansas have been charged with various crimes.
Following a false 911 call which stated that there was an imminent threat at the residence, Andrew Finch of Wichita, Kansas was killed by police after they responded to the report made by an anonymous individual.
However, the call was actually made by Tyler Barriss, a 25-year old California native who “Swatted’ the residence after being given an address by an online Call of Duty player following an argument with a competitor.
Casey Viner, 18, of North College Hill, Ohio and Shane Gaskill, 19, of Wichita got in a dispute following a $1 ‘Wager match,’ which led to Viner asking Barriss to ‘Swat’ Gaskill at his residence.
Gaskill gave Viner a false address, which was then provided to Barriss in order to make the call, commencing the entire situation. Tyler Barriss was later detained by California police and extradited to Kansas to stand trial.
It has been reported by the Associated Press that Casey Viner was charged with conspiracy to make false reports. Both Viner and Gaskill will face charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, along with various counts of obstruction of justice and wire fraud.
Barriss, Viner, and Gaskill will all reportedly have their first day in federal court on June 13th.
We will continue to update the story as more information is made available in the coming weeks.
Source: AP